The Great Migration
by Duke402
Summary: After being forced from their homeworld, a dinosaurian race invades Sauria from another planet. The Lylat System gets involved and war ensues, dragging in the Star Fox Team. Post Assault time-line.
1. A World's End

Chapter 1

Greetings, and welcome to my first story in too long. To start with let me give you a quick summary so that when you are done reading this paragraph, you may better judge if this is the type of story you may like.

Plot: Another planet occupied by dinosaurs (much like Sauria but technologically advanced), but are forced to flee their home after being attacked by another un-named race. Much like the barbarian tribes that snuffed out the Roman Empire nearly 2,000 years ago, these people migrate to Sauria to establish a new home. The Lylat system is hesitant to let such a powerful entity settle near their borders and war quickly ensues that, of course, draws in everybody's favorite mercenary team.

The rating is for violence, some profanity, sexual innuendo, and alcohol usage. It would probably be a PG-13 movie, but for this purpose it is M. The rest is posted with the initial description.

So if this sounds intriguing to you, then by all means, read on. If not, than there are plenty of sappy romance dramas out there you can read.

Also, this story takes place after the events of _Star Fox: Assault_.

One more note, I have placed many dinosaur species names in here to help with physical descriptions (that 3 hr. credit college course I took on anthropology finally has come in handy after all). However, since I realize that most people know their dinosaur names from watching _Jurassic Park _and maybe a few Discover Channel specials, I have listed below what each one is by comparing it to some familiar names. So if you see something in the story that is meaningless to you, just a quick look up here should help you out.

_Carnosaur-_ a large meat-eating therapod, in other words, a T-Rex

_Dromaeosaur- _part of the Deinonychosaur family, this is a smaller meat-eating theropod, like a Velociraptor

_Saurornitholestes _(say that 5 times fast)_- _AnotherDeinonychosaur, much like the one above, but a slightly shorter body

_Ceratopsian-_ a medium sized herbivore, with a frill behind the skull and usually horns on the head, such as, you guessed it, a triceratops

_Hadrosaur_- a medium sized herbivore, four legs and a medium sized but thick tail. Medium sized neck with an elongated head. Not much to compare it to, but for those familiar with a duck-bill dinosaur, its of this species.

_Stegosaur-_ Com'on, do I really have to explain this one? Didn't you learn this stuff in kindergarten? A big four legged herbivore with plates on its spine, a tail with boney spikes, and a tiny head. 'Nuff said.

_Sauropod _– these are gigantic, four-legged herbivores with a neck often as long if not longer than the body and a huge tail to match. Sometime reaching as a four story building, they are the largest land animal ever to exist. Some of you may remember the word Brontosaurus somewhere in the back of your brain (they recently re-named it to Brochiosaur, but same thing).

So, without further ado, sit back and enjoy.

And last but not least, the legal BS.

All names and places named in this story are a complete work of fiction and do not represent any real persons either living or deceased. I do not own any such copyrighted names such as _Lylat, Star Fox, Arwing_, or any other titles which are owned by the Nintendo Corporation.

-Duke402

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**Prologue**

A world's end

It was cold.

That was the one thing that stood out in her mind above all else from that fateful night, the bitter, horrible cold.

Most people of her species use the old cold blooded ancestry as an excuse to avert cold weather, but she always knew it wasn't the physical part of her body that suffered, it was something far less tangible, deep down inside, that being cold always caused her so much misery. It was like feeling the life slowly ebbing out of your body as it succumbed to a slow, joyless death; which in a biological sense wasn't to far from the truth.

But that night she new it was much more than the icy wind biting into her skin through the open door of the VTOL craft. She new that besides the below freezing temperature, it also carried the feel of death. Death for her way of life, death for her planet, and perhaps, even death for her people.

Death was all around her, stretched out before her on the ground only a few hundred meters below her was the ruins of their greatest city, now burning with the stench of buildings materials, machine lubricants, and bodies. Even though she was being lifted clear of it, death was still chasing her. Tracer fire from kinetic projectiles and energy weapons alike whipped through the sky in all directions, sending countless craft like hers tumbling into the fire below.

Yet despite this mayhem, she simply stared out the window like one gazing out a vehicle window on a lazy drive on the weekend. All she could think about was the cold wind flowing over her.

Some movement nearby caught her eye. Not the fast, constant movement of the carnage outside, but something in the carrier with her. It was the crew chief next to the window, a Velociraptor with a slight green tint to his skin waving his hands frantically trying to get her attention. He was screaming something. It was just then that she realized she had not put her headset on. All she could her was the jet wash of the vehicle thrusters and the explosions outside. Blinking like coming out of a dream, she fumbled next to her and put the headset on which allowed her to communicate with the rest of the crew.

"-it! Are you even listening to me Ma'am! We need to take immediate action! Everything's going to hell! This crew risked its ass to bail your stinkin' tail out of that hot zone, and your day dreaming! Of all the stuck up V.I.P. brass, I got to get the one-"

She held up her hand in a stop motion and made gestures like she couldn't hear him. He sighed and leaned closer to her face.

"I SAID, NOW IS THE TI-"

He never finished his last comment because she promptly reached for the back of his helmet and pulled with all her might, smashing his snout into the nearby bulk head. He snorted, holding up a hand to the blood now flowing out his broken nose

"Never speak to me in that tone again. Never forget that I am a superior officer and that as one I always know my duty. I will let this pass because the extreme situation we are in, and it may be hard on such a low ranking individual as your self,"

Now her eye slit narrowed and her tone deepened.

"But if you ever talk like that again I will personally envoke the right of _Gal'nesh _and eat your liver with a fresh glass of your blood. Understood?"

Still holding his snout with a solemn expression on his face, he nodded.

"Yes Ma'm." He mumbled.

"Good, now, get back to your station. I would be most displeased if I got shot down by incoming fire because you were not at your weapon to keep the enemy at bay." She said coolly.

As the crew chief sauntered back to his automatic plasma rifle mounted in the side of the hull, she flipped a switch at her headset that patched her through to the pilot.

"Lieutenant, patch me through to orbital command. Tell them General Gunik wants to know if there are any orders for her from higher."

"Uh, yes Ma'am, but I don't think orbital command is functioning anymore." Came the nervous reply through the headset.

Unflustered, she simply replied, "Fine, then find me the highest ranking pompous waste-of-space fly boy there up there, and tell him that as soon as I can get an orbital transport of this rock I'm going to rip his tail off if he doesn't have a good answer."

There was a slight pause.

"O-kay, but, um, what if that fly-boy is a she?"

She almost jumped out of her seat as she screamed a reply.

"Just dot it!"

"Yes Ma'am! Rerouting comms through Navy channels, standby."

She slumped back down.

As she waited for the pilot to go through the channels, she returned to looking out the window. It was about this time that the craft took a sharp bank to the west, tilting her side towards the sky. The fiery ground left her field of vision and was replaced by the twinkling stars.

She found this soothing, her view of carnage on the ground being replaced by the tranquility of the night sky and the twinkling stars. But it was a fleeting calm. For it was only a few moments before she realized that neither were those stars she saw, nor were they twinkling. They were space craft in orbit, and they were exploding. Each shinny dot probably was a capital ship in a fierce battle in orbit just as desperate as the one on the ground. Each flash of light probably a weapon impacting against a hull or maybe a engine overloading. Which side they were, she couldn't tell. But she found it morbidly depressing that there literally wasn't anywhere she could look without seeing death.

The VTOL then leveled back out and her view was changed back to the quickly passing ground. Fortunately, they were now leaving the frontline area and no longer were there quite as many signs of destruction on the ground. Instead it was replaced by the more familiar countryside that she had learned to love. Rolling green hills with dots of forest with the occasional farmstead snuggled in between. Of course she couldn't see this clearly at night, but she knew it was there.

"General, we're coming up on the space port, ETA approximately 3 minutes." Came the co-pilots raspy voice over the headset. She noticed the pilot hadn't made the call, probably to scared after her last out burst.

"What about getting me through to the Navy? Or is simply making a radio call to complicated for you?" She demanded.

There was a slight pause before the pilot responded.

"Uh, sorry Ma'am, but signal relay is out. We can't communicate with the fleet from here, we'll have to get you to a direct communication terminal at the base."

She sighed loudly and let her shoulders slump.

"Very well, just step on it, I haven't got all night." She winced inwardly as she realized that she let the sound of fatigue slip into her voice as she said this. Maybe the pilot didn't notice, because his reply came back promptly and earnestly.

"Yes Ma'am, 90 seconds now until touchdown."

It was actually 103 seconds. The VTOL touched down roughly on the concrete landing pad and the General immediately jumped out as she tossed her headset to the still sulking crew chief. She was promptly greeted by a dressed up Navy attaché waiting for her on the landing pad. As soon as the engine noise died down he made a crisp salute which she immediately returned.

"General, Lieutenant Grovoss reporting as ordered by Grand Fleet Admiral Volgran. He has tasked me with personally informing you that you are to establish a comm. link with him in orbit as soon as possible." He said in a hurry.

Her eyes widened slightly at Volgran's name.

"I though the Grand Admiral was killed in the initial bombardment?" She asked slowly.

"As I heard to General, but rumors fly fast in confusing situations as I am sure you are aware. Apparently there is still one fly-boy up there who still out ranks you Ma'am." He finished with a slight smug.

She heard a snicker behind her and turned to shoot the pilot a warning glance as he turned to cover his face.

She returned her gaze to the Navy Lieutenant with a more calm demeanor to her, "Very well, I will make contact in a matter of moments. Just as soon as I can reach an orbital comm. link."

"Yes General, of course." He said and once again made a crisp salute which she hastily returned. Without wasting any more time, she started out across the landing pad towards the nearest building which boasted a huge relay dish she knew was used for orbital communication purposes. Being careful not to get run over by the many transport trucks and fuel vehicles rumbling along the strip, she made it to the front door where she was then stopped by an impressive sized Dromaeosaur in full battle armor. She was about to show him ID when he held up a hand stopping her and said in a low guttural growl thick with a eastern continent accent,

"Don't worry about that General, I know who you are. I served under you in the Kroshar Penninsula Campaign 8 years ago. We gave them a good lickin' thanks to you, the least I can do is speed up your work here," He punched a code into the nearby keypad and the door popped open with a buzz. "Go in Ma'am, and show these new assholes how we do business."

Lost for words, she simply nodded and walked into the building. She made her way to the relay station where the comm. specialist patched her through to orbit. She was seated in a simple steel chair in front of what looked like a normal computer bank with a standard monitor in front of her when it suddenly lit up with an unsettling image on it.

Before her was Grand Fleet Admiral Kilson Volgran of the United Forces Navy. One of the very few full sized Carnosaurs to make it into fleet service, his normally imposing image was made much more so now by the expression he wore on his face. At least, what was left of it. The left side of his face was mostly covered by an assortment of bandages, the largest of which covering a now empty eye socket. His usually clean uniform was torn and dirty, covered in all manner of blood and oil.

Because of his immense size, a special command chair had been made for him on the bridge of his flagship. It allowed him rest his weight on a central stool which he "sat" in by bending forward to rest his torso on it. This allowed his head to be almost eye level with the rest of the crew and allowed his short arms to reach a special command console in front of him made for his height. Behind him she could see the crew busily running about as lights flashed and reports came in. His voice, however, was unchanged, and just as deep and rich as usual.

"Ah yes, General Gunik, so good to hear from you. As you can see, reports of my demise are somewhat exaggerated, if only by a little. Let me get straight to business. As of exactly 22:37 hours standard military time the United Council was vaporized in the first moments of the bombardment by enemy forces while at their summer retreat on the Kilsarian Continent. So far none of the Governing Nobles have been heard of either, presumably because of a similar fate. In accordance with protocol 63B of the United Charter, that places me as Commander in Chief of all remaining military forces, both Navy and Army, as well as head of state," He took a breath before continuing.

"As of right now, I have ordered a complete ground evacuation of all military and civilian personnel from the planet. Regrettable as it may be, we cannot stand up to the enemy in this state. I am sorry, but our home world of Saursalon must be abandoned." He finished with a sigh.

General Gunik blinked, "But Grand Admiral, my troops are still at 60 combat efficiency. If you give us more time and aerial support, we can-,"

Volgran cut her off with a growl as he smacked a nearby display with one of his stubby arms, "This is not open for debate, General! Be glad your troops are in as good as shape as they are in, they will be needed on down the road. It is time to cut our losses and leave while we still can. At the moment, the fleet is holding a secure route off the planet surface for transports. The enemy has made minimal attempts to engage our Navy, it seems that they are just as determined to get their troops on the surface as we are to get ours off, so harassment of evacuation ships has been at a minimal."

Trying to still sound confident and unflustered, she asked slowly, "A question Sir, about the enemy, I have gotten numerous conflicting reports about their composition. But most importantly of all, no one knows who they even are. So far all the attacks have been long range, no one has even seen their infantry soldiers and lived to tell about it. Do you have any information on this?"

There was a long pause before the Admiral replied, "I am about as in the dark as you on the matter. They have refused all communication efforts and have not sent any of their own. They have what appears to be a form of writing on the hulls of their ships, but we cannot not translate it as of yet, it has never been seen before. However, we did manage to capture one of their fighter craft which was destroyed in an orbital engagement and floated into out fleet. They found the pilot still strapped in," As he said this he typed a few commands into his console and another image filled her screen. It showed the before mentioned fight craft, burnt and damaged, with a mangled corpse still in his seat. Her breath caught in her throat.

"What the hell is it?" She asked dumbfounded. It was like nothing she had ever seen before. In some ways it reminded her of the small mammals that used to run around her father's farm when she was growing up, but this one had no fur and had what appeared to be a pinkish hide.

"Don't know yet, our scientists are still trying to determine that. A lot of tissue damage was done to the specimen both when his craft was struck by one of our anti-fighter missiles and by the vacuum of space afterwards. But regardless it is a species never seen before. DNA sequencing is under way but that will take some time, and right now, we have more pressing matters at hand,"

His tone shifted a bit and the image was replaced once again by his menacing gaze, "What I need from you General, is to place all none essential personnel under your command onto transports for immediate orbital evacuation. All combat ready personnel you have left need to protect all the space ports in your Area of Responsibility to keep enemy forces at bay. Evacuation is number one priority for the entire planet. A soon as we have gotten all the people off the surface as we can, we are breaking orbit, never to return. Any Questions?"

She was now having to work really hard to maintain her composure, "Just one Lord Admiral, where are we going?"

She could feel the reluctance to which the Admiral gave his response.

"The only known planet capable of supporting such a large population as the one we now carry, Sauria."

This was too much for her. For the first time since her officer basic course all those decades ago, General Gunik lost her cool, "But Grand Admiral, we can't! We must not lower ourselves to the level of those heretics! Surely there is still time to-,"

"That's an order damnit! There will be no discussion in this matter! I am the Commander in Chief now! The master fleet navigator is already plotted the course and the fleet's jump drives are being warmed up. We leave as soon as the evacuation of the surface is complete. It is the only choice left to us now. That, or oblivion." He said the last sentence with a much softer tone.

Trying her best to regain her composure, Gunik stood and saluted the image in front of her. "Understood Sir. I will carry out my orders to the best of my ability."

"Very good, have a report ready for me as soon as you reach the fleet. Grand Admiral Volgron, out." And with that the display went blank.

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OK, there you have it. Now, to answer the questions going through your head right now:

Yes, the Star Fox team makes their appearance next chapter.

Yes, those were humans that attacked Saursalon

And no, they will not make another appearance in this story. I used them because I simply could not think of another species to use (I'm trying to stick to the earth-based land animal theme here). I thought about using super evolved whales or dolphins or something, but that just sounded cheesy.

Next chapter up soon.

-Duke402


	2. Hard Times

**Chapter 1**

Hard times

… 653, 654, 655, 656. There were exactly 656 dots on the paneling above his bed. Falco knew he could say 656 exactly, because this was the third time in a row he had counted them all and come up with that exact same number.

He was bored. That was the problem with his position within the team, he had no real skill to be put to use when not on a contract. Right now, the rest of the team members where all out doing their thing; Slippy was doing annual maintenance on the Arwings in the hanger, Peppy was doing administrative paper work on the bridge, Fox was searching adds for new contracts, and Krystal was doing…, well, no one knew what exactly she did. But Falco was sure it was more important than counting dots on the ceiling. Even ROB was doing systems checks of the Great Fox to ensure nothing was malfunctioning.

Sure, Falco could be homing in his skills in the flight simulators or the practice range, but he had already done that this morning. He was just…, bored. Well, he had been bored in his quarters for long enough, time to go to another part of the ship and be bored there.

He sat up and stretched his arms over his head before heading out the door and down the corridor to the bridge. On his way he passed the galley where he stopped to grab some old pizza out of the fridge that was as stiff and dry as a piece of cardboard. He washed it down with a beer that he had hid behind an ancient jar of who-knows-what so that no one else would take it.

Feeling a little bit better, he continued down the ship to the bridge where he hoped to find something to occupy his mind. As he entered, the expected site greeted his eyes. The ship's android, ROB, was over in a corner working the ship's computer for systems checks, his metal hands typing furiously away at the console. Fox had tried to upgrade him with a direct computer link into the ship to speed up his performance, but right know they simply didn't have the money for that piece of hardware.

Peppy Hare was seated on the other side of the bridge reading through records and documents. Every so often he would adjust his glasses to help his aged eyes see the work in front of him better. He was mumbling to himself as he typed in some notes to the data in front of him. The old rabbit had his share of action in the past, even more than Falco, but time had taken its toll on him and now he had resigned himself to administrative duties and command support when needed.

And seated at the command chair in the center of the room was Fox McCloud, the team leader. This particular fox was the most renowned fighter pilot in the System. Despite repeated offers from the Cornerian military, he insisted on running his mercenary team for hire just like his father had done before him. He had his smaller display screen propped up at his side looking at something while on the main viewer at the forefront of the bridge the network news was on. Nobody even batted an eye has Falco casually waltzed into the room and took a seat at the terminal next to ROB.

ROB then promptly swiveled 90 degrees to face Falco. "Do you require my assistance in any matter?" He stated flatly in his mechanical monotone voice.

"Nope, just seeing if there is anything of any importance going on around here." Falco replied casually.

Without waiting a second, ROB immediately began droning on. "Great Fox's annual systems diagnostic is 67.8 complete as of 2.7 seconds ago. Peppy has reviewed 60.2 of personnel records to find an average error of 30.9-,"

Falco held up his hand to motion him to stop. "Alright, fine, I get the idea. Nothing exciting going on as usual." He said wearily. Everybody knew that Falco was the resident smart ass, but he secretly thought ROB had a leg up on him, even if it wasn't intentional.

ROB said nothing and swiveled back to face his terminal. Falco sat there for a moment and then got up to walk over to Fox. He stood behind his command chair and peaked over his head to look at the display terminal mounted on his chair.

"So fearless leader, find any well-paying way in which we can save the System from impending doom?" Falco asked sarcastically.

Without even looking up, Fox simply replied. "Nothing, nada, zilch, zero, jack squat. Call it what you like, but there is absolutely no contracts out by the Cornerian government. No bandits to catch, criminals to apprehend, planets to save, nothing. The Lylat System is at peace, and people of our profession just aren't needed anymore." He said sadly.

Falco said nothing for a moment, and then he spoke up. "Peace blows." He concluded flatly.

At that moment the doors to the bridge swished open and the other fox of the team walked in. A slender woman with deep blue fur, she was the newest member of the team. A telepath from a strange and uncharted world, she was the moral balance needed to counteract Falco's killer instinct and Fox's determination. She strolled on in wagging her tail much the way she always did.

"Hey boys, anything good going on?" Krystal asked innocently.

Falco snorted and looked away. "Sorry, that issue has already been addressed. And to answer your question, no. There isn't anything, anything at all going on." He said.

Still looking at his display screen, Fox added, "What we need to do is find some sort of peace-time way of making money, just enough to maintain the ship's systems and keep some food in the galley if nothing else."

By this time Falco had sauntered back over to his seat and had his hands folded behind his head as he stared at the ceiling. "You mean like a bake-sale or something." He said sarcastically.

Without bothering to reply to Falco's last comment, Fox turned to Peppy. "Hey Peppy, what is the total amount of money in the team's account?" He asked.

Peppy just snorted. "Wow Fox, you really haven't been keeping track have you? We haven't hade enough money to keep an actual bank account open in eight months. Not surprising, your father wasn't very good at financial dealings either. In fact, this once-"

"Just tell me how much money we have." Fox cut him off before he could continue his story.

Peppy blinked for a second before reaching under his console and pulled out a metal cash box. He opened it up and unceremoniously dumped it on the panel in front of him. Some coins and a couple of bills landed on the flat surface. He then quietly counted it out.

"Star Fox Inc. officially has 347 credits and 82 micro credits to its name." He said matter-of factly and leaned back in his chair with his hands folded in front of him.

There was dead silence in the room for a minute. As usual, Falco was the first to speak.

"You gotta be kidding me! That's hardly enough to fuel the Great Fox's sub-light engines." He said.

Fox sighed. "Yeah, I know. That is why we have been floating through space on pure momentum for the past three days. We have just enough fuel to re-align the Great Fox with an orbit of our choosing before she's bone dry. We are currently on a course for Corneria and at this speed should be there in one and a half days. I had a feeling it may come to this…," He punched a button on his chair.

"Slippy, this is Fox, we need you up here on the bridge right away." He said.

"Okay, be right up." Came the cheerful reply.

"Fox, what is going on?" Asked Krystal in a concerned tone.

"You'll see, something I have been thinking about for a while if we ever got to a position like this." He said as he rubbed his jaw.

A few minutes later Slippy, the team's amphibian mechanic, came through the doors of the bridge.

"Ok, listen up," Fox began. "Tomorrow evening we will be coming into geo-synchronous orbit around Corneria. At this moment I have been unable to locate any contracts what so ever. Our current funds for the team are down to nothing. We are unable even to maintain the ship and its crew in a combat ready state. Therefore I am standing us down from operational status for now until we can re-equip. Once we have enough money to be operational, I will stand us back up and continue to search for contracts. Any questions?"

Slippy opened his arms up like he was pleading before a judge. "Fox, where are we going to get the money in the meantime?"

Fox sighed and looked at his lap. He mumbled something incoherent.

"Huh, what's that? Say again there o-fearless one." Falco said from the back.

"I said we are going to dock the Great Fox on the surface and find temporary civilian jobs for the time being." He said sounding defeated.

Another long pause. Krystal spoke first as she joyously clapped her hands.

"Oh! I always wanted to be a school teacher! I just love children, their so cute." She said.

Falco just stared at Fox with a mean look. "You have got to be shittin me. What in the hell I am going to do for a job? I joined this team so I wouldn't need a corny civie job in the first place! I mean, there aren't that many ads in the classifieds for fighter pilots if you haven't noticed." He said flatly.

Fox held up his hands. "I know, I know, but by time we pay the docking fees for the Great Fox, we are going to be literally broke. So if any of you can find a way to make some dough in the next couple of days short of doing something illegal, I'm all ears."

Silence.

"That's what I thought. We reach Cornerian orbit in 32 hours, meet back up here then."

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Fox sighed as he looked at the receipt in front of him:

Atmospheric re-entry fee: 80 credits

Usage of landing pad for capital sized starship for 2 hours: 60 credits

Rent of hanger for capital sized starship: 200 credits per month

Total credits left: 7

Seven lousy credits was all his team had. Of course, each individual had varying amounts of personnel money set aside. Except for Falco, he couldn't even spell the word "savings".

Fox was standing in the hanger where they had decided to dock the Great Fox for now. At this moment, ROB was shutting down the ship's systems and putting her in mothballs. The crew would still live in it, they just wouldn't be using it like it was designed for.

The entire team was now assembled in front of him in a horse-shoe pattern. Fox put away the piece of paper and looked down for a moment. He then looked each of them in the eye and began. "OK team, listen up. I've secured enough money to buy the Great Fox one month rent here at the hanger. We have no more money left. Starting now, we each have to go out and get some. The only way to do that is to get some jobs. It doesn't have to be anything special, just find something that will help get us back up on our feet. Assuming we don't spend money on anything we don't need, we should be able to pool our funds together and use the profits to re-equip. If anybody needs anything from the rest of us, just post a note in the galley and we can meet to discuss it at a pre-determined time. Any questions?"

Nobody said anything.

"Great, we will meet back again in one week." He finished.

And with that he turned around and left the hanger for the city street. Everybody else stood there for a second before following suite.

Except Falco. He continued to stand there with his arms folded across his chest and an acid look on his face. He slowly turned to look at the Great Fox behind him, all its windows dark. He then sighed and looked at the ground.

"How did it ever come to this? So much for riches beyond my wildest dreams, thanks a lot Fox." He said to no one in particular.

And with that he slowly began walking in the same direction as the rest of the team.

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Author's note:

Ok, another chapter is up. Expect the next one to be coming soon. Your probably wondering how I update so fast. The reason is by time I posted the first one I already had this one done and the next one half way through, I just needed some time to edit this before I post it.

This chapter and the next one take a small detour from the main plot as a kind of transition from one side of the story to the other, but it will pick up speed again soon, don't worry.

-Duke402


	3. The Cornerian Dream

Chapter 3

Chapter 2

The Cornerian Dream

"What in the balls are you doing!? Did you even read the work order? Explain this mess!" The blood hound demanded.

Slippy wiped some oil from his hands on his cover-alls and pointed to the now disassembled sedan engine in front of him. "Well I was trying to get to the air filter and I noticed how the fusion igniters are of a 35 year old design. I'm betting that if I replace them with new ones it would boost the total engine output by 19. The only problem is for the new igniters to work, I also need to replace the electrical conversion-"

He stopped as he ducked a wrench that flew through the air where his head had been moments before.

"You idiot! All you were supposed to do is an oil change and new air filter. A 50 minute job, and now look at the mess you've made! Not only that, this is a classic make sedan, intentionally restored to its original specs. by the owner. Of course it has 35 year old parts you giant wart! Now put it back together while I stall its owner. If it's not done by an hour before closing time, your fired!"

Slippy sighed and looked back at the engine. He hadn't bothered to tell him that he had already thrown away the old igniters. The only thing he had to put on now that would work with this configuration were some rusty old Venomian ones. They would probably crack after a couple of months of usage, but since they were located next to the reaction chamber, that would make them awfully hard to spot…

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Krystal looked up from the papers on her desk. Eric, the young squirrel sitting in the front row, was raising his hand.

"Miss Krystal, I'm sorry, but I dropped my pencil again and it rolled over next to your desk. Could you please pick it up for?" He asked politely.

"Sure Eric, let me help you out there." She said as pleasantly as she could. She got up from her chair and walked a couple of steps to where the writing utensil was laying on the floor.

She had ended up with the 9th grade class at the local high school. Since she had no formal teaching education, she was restricted to simple study hall sessions, but she didn't mind. She had helped the students with their work and answered all questions when needed. She had heard all sorts of horror stories from the other teachers about "little demons" and "immature brats", but they all behaved perfectly for her. She was so happy that her students seemed so well behaved and eager to learn. The only minor "disruption" she was having was that it seemed that a lot of pens and pencils seemed to have the odd habit of rolling to the front of the room.

Like the one in front of her now. She stood next to it and bent over to pick it up. As she did this her vulpine ears caught the strange creaking noise that wooden furniture made when weight was shifted on it. She stood up swiftly and turned around.

As she did so she also heard the same ever so faint noise of weight being shifted again and what she just barely detected out her peripheral vision as numerous students sitting back down in their seats, as if they had been leaning to look at something. But when she was facing her class again she saw most of them were all sitting quietly doing their work. Dismissing any suspicion she had, she gave the pencil back to Eric.

The only thing that bothered her about her 9th grade class, was the fact that all the pens and pencils that she picked up, belonged to the boy students.

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Fox was used to being nervous. Though he never showed it or would admit it, before every Arwing launch, Landmaster touchdown, or mission prep., he always got the same pit in his stomach. But he would deal with it by simply swallowing hard and carry on like always.

But this was different. He had been sitting in the same upholstered chair now for 45 minutes as he twiddled his thumbs, trying to take his mind of the growing sensation of needing to use the bathroom. The executives had asked all of their questions and had taken a copy of his resume into to another room where he had heard deep discussion. The waiting was killing him.

Finally, the side door opened and a well dressed bull walked in followed by an equally dressed lynx and gazelle. The bull held his resume and test results in one hand and plopped them down on the desk in front of them as he took a seat.

"Mr. McCloud," He began as he leaned back in his leather executive chair. "First off I want to thank you for considering flying for Universal Space Lines, and would like to state what an honor it is to meet you in person. I believe I can speak for everyone in this room when I say we are all aware of your heroic deeds and are incredibly appreciative of the work you've done for Corneria."

"Thank you Sir." Was all Fox could think of.

"However," The bull continued with a frown on his face. "We believe that your skills just don't match those required of our pilots." He concluded.

Fox blinked for a moment. "But how? I have more hours logged than half of your pilots. I've worked under much more stressful conditions and have done more complex maneuvers. Sure I realize that flying a 5938 inter-system freighter isn't the same as an Arwing, but I'm a quick learner. Surely the tests show that?" He pleaded.

"Ah yes, the tests." The Gazelle spoke up from the side. He picked up the stack of papers on the desk and leafed through them. "Though you do seem to have a high IQ, your responses to possible scenarios seem a little bit… disturbing." He said.

"Oh yeah, like what?" Fox demanded.

"Well, let's take question 49 for example." The Gazelle continued. "The question was, 'Suppose you suddenly and unexpectedly found yourself in the wrong traffic lane of a major aerial route due to a navigation error. What would be your course of action to correct this error?'. You answered with, 'Put engines to maximum thrust and get behind the closest flight. Assuming it is an atmospheric lane, use the lead plane to reduce drag and thus gain maximum possible speed. As soon as it appears collision with rear of lead flight is imminent, pull a sharp 80 degree climb and invert plane, continuing to increase climb rate to 180 degrees. Once plane is inverted and opposite flight direction is achieved, adjust yaw so plane is no longer inverted.' Now, tell me Mr. McCloud, do you really think we would hire you to fly like that with hundreds of thousands of company credits at stake?"

Everyone was looking at Fox waiting for an answer.

"Well, yeah, I mean, I do that while putting my own life at stake to. Surly the company realizes that a life is more important than money or a product, and by default is enough collateral to ensure the safety of the cargo?"

Judging by the angry looks on their faces, it appeared not.

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"Greetings, and welcome to All-Mart." Peppy said for the thousandth time that day.

"Hope you enjoyed yourself, come back soon." He used all his self control to sound as cheerful as possible while saying the monotonous phrase and not the deep pit of despair he felt.

"Good afternoon Miss, why those are some lovely tykes you have there." He said to a middle aged rabbit with six different children in tow behind her. One of them, probably about 9 years old, stopped in front of Peppy and looked up at him with a mean look on his face.

"You stink like old people!" He said harshly.

"Bradley! That's not polite, now come along so Mommy can finish her shopping." His mother called to him.

The boy then turned and ran towards his siblings and mother, yelling as he went along, "But momma, you said yourself that they smell like granddad!"

Peppy sighed as he resumed facing the entrance of the mega-store. Oh, how the mighty have fallen, he thought to himself.

"Hi and welcome to All-Mart. I hope your having a lovely day and enjoy your shopping experience." He said to a couple of rough looking alley cats. One of them, a cougar dressed in torn blue jeans and a leather biker jacket, turned sharply and walked to within inches of his face.

"What business is yours what kind of day I am having? My day sucks, my old lady is pregnant again and I missed my court date yesterday. So just fuck off and leave me alone, you senile old fool, or I'll make sure your day ends up just as shitty as mine." And with that he produced a switch blade from his jacket and held the tip up facing Peppy.

Peppy was always known as a good fighter pilot and strategist, but what most of his crew didn't know is he also had undergone extensive martial arts training when he was still a cadet at the Cornerian Academy. He had received top honors from his instructor, who was heart broken when he learned that Peppy would seek out being a pilot rather than a ground soldier. The knife in front of his face triggered something in the back of his mind.

Peppy cocked his head to one side and said to the young cat, "You know, I once hunted down a former Venomian Army Officer wanted for war crimes who pulled a knife just like that on me. You know what happened to him?" He asked calmly.

The cougar just laughed and looked at his friends for a second before returning his gaze to Peppy. "No old man, I don't know, but I really don't give a crap because I don't want to hear any of you stories."

"Oh that's ok, I'll just show you then." Peppy said matter of factly.

The cougar's scream could be heard from the other side of the store.

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Fox was tired. Not the usual tired from being up to long or the stress of combat, but tired from being depressed. He and most of the team had always figured themselves to be slightly better than the average joe six pack and his blue collar profession, but that week had opened up his eyes. Life was tough, and to get through in the civilian life was just as hard if not harder than a mercenary's.

He slowly trudged down the main corridor of the Great Fox to the bridge, where the crew had agreed to meet for the first weekly meeting to discuss how things were going. As he stepped through the door to the main bridge, the sight was not as uplifting as he had hoped it would be.

Falco was sprawled out on the command chair with one leg slung over the side and an empty case of beer at his feet. He was dressed in what appeared to be a security guard uniform, with the shirt unbuttoned and the black tie around his head like a bandanna.

Peppy was at his usual station sound asleep and snoring. Fox couldn't help but notice a fresh cut on his left temple.

ROB was also at his usual spot but was wearing a vertical yellow and red stripped apron with a matching cap. He spun around to face Fox and in his flat voice began rambling on, "Greetings and welcome to Sugar Land. Today's special is the Vanilla Fudge Sundae with a side of-"

Fox spun to Falco, "You rented out ROB!" he asked in disbelief.

Falco slowly spun the chair around to greet him, "Well, yeah, I mean, he ain't gonna do much good on a deactivated ship now is he? Besides, I kinda like his new personality. Much more customer friendly, wouldn't you say?" He said with a slight lisp to his voice.

Fox was about to say something when the doors opened behind him and Krsytal walked in. She sat down calmly and turned and looked at everyone else without saying a word. By this time Peppy had woke up and was rubbing his eyes.

"So Krystal, how is your new job treating you?" He asked her politely.

"Oh it's wonderful. I have such well behaved and intelligent students, and they seem to like me. They even gave me a nickname!" She said happily.

"Oh, and what might that be?" Asked Falco while staring at the ceiling.

"I'm Knockers!" She said joyously.

Everybody looked at her quizzically before she pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and handed it to Fox. He looked at it curiously. It was a crudely drawn pencil sketching of Krystal, but with the word "knockers" written to one side and an arrow pointing to her chest.

Fox lowered the paper and looked at her for a second. She was still smiling with a beaming expression on her face. Her smile faded a bit as she looked at him and said, "Fox, I sense there is something you wish to tell me. What is it?"

Fox sighed and handed back the paper. For an empath, she could be remarkably naïve.

"Nothing important, just that I'm glad you seem to be enjoying your job. Especially since no one else seems to be." He said and looked around the room.

"You mean those of us who still have jobs." Falco said.

"Wait, you mean you got fired!" Fox asked in disbelief.

"Well, kinda, yeah. I mean, how was I supposed to know that panda bear was reaching for a wallet? I mean, seriously, who keeps a wallet in their coat pocket? Oh yeah, that reminds me, if any lawyer from Sinxhou Inc. calls about an assault law suit, this is the wrong number." Said Falco.

Before Fox could respond, Peppy spoke up from the back. "Oh yeah, that reminds me, I got fired to. Apparently All-Mart doesn't like their employees to get involved in free-for all brawls with the customers. Especially when it involves using merchandise from the lawn and garden department as lethal weapons."

"That's the spirit Gramps! Show'em what your made of, don't let the Man keep you down!" Falco shouted while punching his fist in the air.

Fox then turned to Falco, "Now wait just a moment, are you drunk?"

Falco threw aside his now empty beer can and pulled out an un-labeled glass bottle full of a caramel-colored liquid from his coat pocket. He broke the neck on the chair and downed a gulp. "Not yet, but this otta do the trick." He croaked.

Fox was about to say something else when Slippy walked in. Before he had even taken more than two steps, Fox asked in a pleading tone, "Please tell me that you at least have a stable, moderately well paying job?"

Slippy stood there for a minute, unsure how to answer. Finally he began, "Well, no I don't have a job any more, I got fired. And no, it wasn't even well paying. But, on my way out, I helped 'liberate'," He used his fingers in quotation marks next to his head as he said the last word. "Some engine parts in storage from my former employer. So now, I can fix all of the Great Fox's systems! All we need is some fuel and she'll be good to go!"

"Slippy! What did I say about doing anything illegal! How long do you think it will take your boss to figure out that you're the most likely person to steal from him?"

"Well it shouldn't…, oh, um, well, you see," Slippy's voice trailed off for a second as realization came to his face. "Oh crap." Was all he could say.

"Oh crap is the understatement of the day." Fox sighed as he closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He was about to say something else when they heard a metallic clanging noise echoing off the side of the hull. Nobody moved for a second while they listened tensely. They heard it again. It was somebody knocking at the door to the entrance ramp.

"Ahhhh, it's the cops! There here to arrest me! Please Fox, you got to help me, I wouldn't last a minute in jail, I'm to young." Pleaded Slippy.

Falco gestured to him with the bottle in his one hand. "Damn straight, why, a young guy like yourself wouldn't last ten minutes in there. What with your nice smooth skin and that perty' mouth, you may as well-,"

"Shut up! All of you! Let me just see what were dealing with here." Fox growled as he walked over to a terminal on the wall. He flipped a switch and a miniature viewer flickered to life to show the entrance ramp of the Great Fox. Standing on the entrance plank with his hands behind his back and a small security detail behind him was the one and only, General Pepper.

"Hang on guys, I'll be right back." Fox said, and without further explanation, walked out of the bridge.

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"Fox my boy! Good to see you again! What's the long face? I figured you'd be in a much better mood to see your favorite contract provider." Pepper grumbled from underneath the folds around his muzzle.

General Pepper met the perfect stereotypical description of "an old hound dog". He was now well over military age, a relic from the past as some whispered behind his back. He maintained his post mainly out of a sense of nostalgia by the politicians, and the fact that no one had as of yet proven themselves worthy to replace him. He seemed to have been in the Cornerian Military forever, slowly working his way up the officer ranks until he had finally made commander of all military branches. A old friend of Fox's late father, he had always kept tabs with the team and been the one to offer the well-paying contracts which they so desperately needed to keep money in their pockets

"Sorry General, it's just things haven't been going so well as of late." Fox said.

"Yes, I can see that from the looks of things." Pepper replied as he eyed over the powered down ship. "Well, I'm here to rectify that. Fox, I have a mission for you. A nice, relatively easy, well-paying one at that; and, depending on how events unfold, perhaps many more to come."

Fox raised an eyebrow. "Huh? What kind of mission? Is something going on?"

"Wow Fox, haven't you been watching the news?"

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They were all now standing on the bridge of the Great Fox. Falco had passed out and was now laying on the floor in a corner while General Pepper has helped himself to the command chair. Fox, Peppy, Krystal, and Slippy stood in a group to one side while the four security guards stood on either side of the door. One of them kept glancing over at ROB with a confused expression on his face as the robot kept asking for his order. The guard would simply shake his head stare straight ahead.

Pepper was trying to turn on the news on the main viewer with the controls on the command chair. "Damn, what's wrong with this thing? Fox, don't you pay your cable bills?" Pepper demanded.

Fox cleared his throat before answering. "Uh, as a fatter of fact, no Sir, we don't. We fell behind on payment and our service was discontinued. We still owe two months of fees to the cable company." He said embarrassed.

Pepper looked at him hard for a minute before getting up and walking to the control dash beneath the main viewer. He pulled out a disk from his pocket and bent down to put it in the player. "No matter I have here the complete situation-, hang on, a disk is already in here. I'm going to pop this right out…," Pepper pressed the eject button and another disk emerged from the slot. He was about to toss it aside before he did a double take and looked at it.

"Let me see, whose copy of 'Drunk Avian Girls Gone Wild' is this?" He asked holding up the disk in his hand.

The team slowly turned to look at the passed out figure in the corner.

"That's what I thought." The general said and tossed it over to where Falco lay. He then put in his disk and activated the viewer. Resuming his seat in the command chair he then took out his laser pointer and put the tiny red dot on the screen.

The main viewer showed an overlay of the Lylat System, which was now shrunk down to include the distant world of Sauria. General Pepper motioned with his pointer to the Dinosaur Planet.

"As I'm sure you are aware, the Planet of Sauria has been operating at a relatively peaceful capacity ever since General Scales was disposed of and the Aperoid invasion halted. However, recent events have come to light that prove otherwise. Eight days ago, the planet's distress beacon was activated again, only to be turned off three days later. Not only that, but long range sensors detected massive jump destinations open up all over the planet's orbit. Numbers are sketchy, but the navigators tell us that anywhere from 600 to 1,000 capital sized ships may have jumped through."

Pepper paused before hitting a button and the picture changed. It now showed a very blurry image of the planet and what appeared to be numerous starships in orbit.

"This image was taken with the Gerble Space Telescope in orbit around Corneria. As you can see, there is a rather large space fleet now in orbit around the planet. We can only assume at the moment that was the cause of the distress signal, and that since it stopped transmitting, it has been turned off by hostile means."

He now swiveled in the chair to face the team. "Now, as I'm sure you are aware, Sauria is not part of the Cornerain Federation, despite their attempts to apply for federal status, the move is stalled in the government by red tape. This means that the Cornerian Military is unable to take any action what so ever. The politicians will not tolerate dragging us into another costly conflict unless absolutely necessary, and right now whoever is in orbit around that planet does not seem not to be taking any action against us."

Krystal spoke up from the back of the group. "Sir, do we know who these ships belong to? Surly Venom has nothing like that left, and if they did, they wouldn't bother with Sauria, they would come straight for Corneria."

Pepper nodded. "Correct young lady, that is why I'm here. Though the Cornerian Military cannot act, it can seek out further information through other means. Namely, by you." He said pointing to the team.

"Your mission is to head to Sauria and gather as much information as possible. Under no circumstances are you to engage or provoke the unidentified ships in any way. If you are involved in armed conflict, the Cornerian Government will deny any knowledge of the operation and you will receive neither military assistance or pay." Pepper put some emphasis on the last word. "Priority information is who the unidentified assailants are, numbers and composition, and what operations they are carrying out on the planet surface. Payment will be the standard non-combat rate, but the Military has agreed to kick in a hazardous duty stipend as well as any equipment or logistical needs the team may need to be fully operational. So Star Fox, what do you say?"

Fox didn't even look at his team before he stood rigidly to attention before the General. "Sir, the Star Fox team is at your service." He said proudly.

"Excellent! I want you under way as soon as possible. Make sure you report in every 12 hours or as needed. I look forward to hearing what you have to say. Well, I'll be off then." He said as he rose from the chair and made his way to the bridge door. He stopped just short of the threshold and turned part-way around to look at the team.

"Oh, by the way, it was a tremendously good choice you made to accept this mission, because other wise I would have to serve this warrant for your arrest." He said as he held up a piece of paper. "It seems that two of your team members are wanted for assault, and another for theft. But since your working for us now, I think this can wait for another time." He finished and then smartly headed out the door with his security detail in tow.

Nobody moved for a moment. Then Fox spoke up with a determined tone in his voice.

"Slippy, get a hold of the Cornerian space port and requisition all the fuel and supplies we need. Peppy, I want you to start plotting a course for Sauria, but try to make it a discreet one, I don't want the Great Fox spotted. Also, start trying to find out as much information on the currently developing story as you can, I don't want any surprises. And Krystal, wake up Falco and get ROB's normal programming up and running again." He ordered before heading off the bridge himself.

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Author's note:

There ya go, another chapter down. The next one should be coming up soon as well, I'm almost through with it.

This chapter and the one before it was my attempt at a little humor while setting the background for the Team's attitude. The next chapter plunges right into the main plot though, so the story line is about to pick up speed. Hope you like it thus far.

-Duke402


	4. Infiltration

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Infiltration

It was surprisingly peaceful, Fox thought to himself. Just him and some rocks, floating amongst the stars. He could do this forever, he thought. In fact, when he gets back to the Great Fox, he was going to change his Final Will and Testament so that when he died, his body would be ejected into the vacuum of space, forever floating amongst the heavens.

"This has got to be the most boring and pointless assignment of my lousy career." Came a restless voice over the radio.

It was Falco, his Arwing was about two and a half klicks away from Fox's. They were both powered down and floating amongst an asteroid field about 150,000 km from Sauria. Not far from their Arwings was the Great Fox, floating similarly like their fighters. All but the auxiliary systems were powered down on the massive ship and a jagged gray and black paint job had been done to make the sure it looked like just another asteroid. They had come in on sub-light engines, and even those had been cut off way out, so they just drifted right into the asteroid field without being detected.

To the right out of Fox's canopy, he could see the planet of Sauria. Its green and blue surface was as pristine as ever. It's what Fox couldn't see though, that bothered him. He knew that right now, thousands of space craft of all shapes and sizes were in orbit around the planet, and each one had the potential to spot his tiny fighter. Even worse, it wasn't what was in orbit that bothered him. The Great Fox's passive scanners had gathered all the detail they needed on the space fleet. What they still didn't have though was intelligence from the planet surface, and in order to do that it would mean breaking through the blockade in orbit and getting to the ground. After which they would have to leave the planet surface again and return to their ship, all of which had to be undetected by the enemy.

This was going to be a tough mission.

"Ok Falco, lets take her in. This sweep is complete. I'll send Krystal and Slippy out on the next one, no point in burning ourselves out yet." Fox said into the radio.

"Yeah, but you forgot something. In order to be burned out, you have to be doing something in the first place. We've been floating out here like a turd in a toilet bowl for days now, this isn't going to accomplish our mission." Falco complained.

"I know, we need a plan to get to the surface. I'll have to think of something."

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They were all gathered in the galley eating their "evening" meal. Evening was a rather inappropriate word since there was no night or day in space, but for convinces sake they kept to Cornerian standard time just like all other space-farers. Fox was staring hard at the wall as he slowly shoveled food into his mouth. On one end of the table, Peppy and Krystal were discussing some philosophical matter, while on the other side Slippy and Falco were arguing about the proper method of an Arwing maneuver. Fox was tuning them all out, thinking hard about how to get to the surface.

The enemy fleet was scattered all over orbit, all along the equator, both the polls, and everywhere in between. Their sensor coverage was complete, so no ship, no matter how small, could slip through.

"… I'm telling you, 95 thrust is a must for a turn like that! Anything less and you'll loose momentum!" Falco was now nearly yelling at Slippy.

"That much strain on the engine will blow a fusion coupling in a matter of seconds! Do you know how much trouble it is to replace those!" Slippy argued back.

Fox continued to concentrate, tuning out all the noise around him, all sorts of possibilities rolling through his head. A space craft had to get by the blockade, it was the only way. A one way ticket to the surface was not an option, they had to return to the Great Fox to transmit the data back to Corneria. There had to be a way to get a ship past the fleet without being noticed…

"You mean to tell me you don't know what I'm thinking right now? You can't even tell me my favorite color?" Peppey was demanding from Krystal.

"I told you, I'm an _empath_, not a _telepath_. I can only sense emotions and moods, not exact thoughts." Krystal explained. "I also can't project sensations or thoughts into your mind, only block them."

Only block them, thought Fox. A blocking method, some way to keep the enemy from seeing their ship as it went to the surface. But how?

"I can't project, only block." Krystals words kept repeating in Fox's head.

Only Block.

Block

Ships

Krystal

"THAT'S IT!" Fox screamed and leapt from his chair. The plate he had been eating from flew from the table and landed on the floor. The room immediately went quiet as every one stared at Fox with concerned expressions.

"Um, what's it?" Asked Slippy slowly.

Fox turned quickly to Krystal with an excited look on his face. "Krystal, you said you can block things with your mind, you mean like people's perceptions, their senses?" He asked excitedly.

"Well, yes, I think. I've never really tried that hard before to be honest, but in theory I can stop certain senses of my choosing from an individual. Like not feeling wind on a face, or not seeing a certain color, or-"

"Or stop a person from seeing a small spacecraft?" Interrupted Fox with an even more excited tone.

Krystal cocked her head to one side with a puzzled expression on her face. "Yes, I suppose, but why would…," Her voice trailed off as she looked out the galley window at the planet floating in space.

"Ohhhhhh…"

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"Ok now, let's try this again. Just relax, take a deep breath, and concentrate." Fox said in as soothing a tone as he could manage. Everybody was still gathered in the galley, sitting in front of Krystal. She sat in a single chair in the middle of the room facing Fox, Slippy, Falco, and Peppy. For about two and a half hours now they had been trying to work on her mental abilities to see if it were possible to have Krystal block their perception. In other words, Krystal was trying to make herself appear invisible.

So far the amount of progress made was virtually non-existent. Though the team was doing their best to be patient and understanding, they were obviously getting bored. Krystal herself was obviously tired and lacking in confidence. Fox was starting to have a bad feeling this wasn't going to work.

Once again, Krystal breathed in deeply and closed her eyes. Her body slumped as she relaxed and for a minute there was complete silence in the room. Fox saw one of her eyes twitch slightly. Whether it was concentration, annoyance, or anxiety, he couldn't tell.

"Hey, what happened? Krystal, your image flickered for a minute." Falco said in amazement.

Krystal's eyes shot open and her face beamed with happiness. "Really?" She asked excitedly.

The awe struck look on Falco's face disappeared in a flash. "No, not really, I made that up."

Peppy punched him in the shoulder with a scowl.

"Oh com'on guys, were wasting our time here!" Falco said. "I mean, even if the wonder girl could fool the four of us, what makes you think she'll fool hundreds of thousands of crew members, huh? And even if she could do that, what about ship's sensors? Even if Joe Schmoe can't see us out a viewing portal, the ships scanners sure as hell will, and trust me, you don't need visual confirmation to shoot a guided anti-ship missile, those things do that themselves."

Fox turned around in his chair to face the distraught avian. "Listen Falco, I know this is a long shot. But unless you have any better ideas-"

"Your damn straight I have a better idea! How bout I go get my Arwing prepped for launch right now and Peppy here warms up the Great Fox's main weapons. Then we'll smash whoever the hell gets in our way. That'll show them! And then we can haul the ship scraps back as 'intelligence' for those coward military brats back home!" Falco shouted back.

Peppy snorted and stared at floor. "Falco you fool, you know that is just as ridiculous as it sounds. Let me tell you what, if you spent half your energy thinking instead of yapping that beak of yours, the world would be a much better place. You know how many times I saved your tail because you were too headstrong to take some advice?" He said accusingly.

The chair skidded across the room as Falco leapt to his feet. "You wanna dance old man? I've put up with enough of your all-knowing crap. Why I aughta-"

By this time both Slippy and Fox had also gotten to their feet to step between the two as Peppy rose to stare Falco in the face. With everybody's attention drawn to the scuffle, all eyes had been removed from Krystal. It wasn't until Falco grabbed Peppy by the collar and spun him around that the bird's eye's momentarily swept past the now empty chair.

He froze with Peppy still in his hands. Fox, Slippy, and Peppy saw the shocked look on his face that had replaced the rage seen moments before, and turned their eyes to see what he was looking at. No one moved.

"What? What is it? Why are you all looking at me like that?" Asked a disembodied female voice.

At about that time, the blue furred fox known as Krystal slowly shimmered back into view. It was blurry at first, like seeing a far of mirage in the desert, or looking at an object through a glass of water. But slowly it cleared up and Krystal was sitting in the chair much the same way as she had the past couple of hours.

Eyes still wide, Falco let go of Peppy and the rabbit flopped to the floor with a thud.

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"So let me get this straight, we can see her as long as we are trying to see her, but if were not looking for her, then we can't find her?" Asked Peppy in a puzzled tone.

They were now gathered in the auxiliary repair bay located adjacent to the main hanger of the Great Fox. Slippy used it as a makeshift machine shop and a place to conduct any other random tasks he may need to there.

Like trying to analyze the brain waves a certain blue fox. Krystal sat stiffly in a metal chair in the middle of the room with a strange metal apparatus on her head that greatly resembled a pasta strainer. Several cords ran from that to a dilapidated looking computer that Slippy was typing away at. Two sets of wavy lines moved furiously from left to right on the monitor with jagged peaks in the pattern.

Peppy and Fox stood next to Slippy at the computer while Falco stood to one side in a corner, his back to the wall as he watched the proceedings with an amused look on his face.

Slippy tapped the monitor with a pencil as he pointed to the wavy lines. "Yup, you see, these lines here are Krystal's brainwaves. This green one is her normal brain patterns, her basic thought process. This purple one here is her sensory output, in other words, her empathic brainwaves. Right now her empathic activity is at a minimal, which is why the purple line is relatively flat." Slippy then swiveled in his chair and faced the nervous girl. "Krystal, would you mind trying to block our perception again?" He asked.

"Only if you promise to get this ridiculous contraption off me as soon as I do." She demanded coldly.

Slippy just srugged. "Sure, whatever. Just do like you did before."

Krystal sighed and closed her eyes.

Nothing happened.

"Hah! There, you see, its working." Slippy said as he pointed to the computer. The purple line was no longer flat, but with jagged peaks in it like a mountain top.

Fox looked back over at Krystal who was still sitting there with her eyes closed.

"But then why can I see her?" Asked Fox in a confused tone.

"It's because you know she is there. You see we lost sight of her in the galley not that long ago because we were distracted by Peppy and Falco, so our attention was taken away from Krystal. She's strong, but her brain patterns are not strong enough to fool a person who is concentrating on her. We see her know because we know she is there and expect her to be there, no matter how hard she may try, she can't fool us. But if we didn't expect her to be there, or we weren't looking that hard…"

"Then we wouldn't see her because we wouldn't expect her to be there." Fox finished for him.

"You got it." Slippy said.

"That's great boys, now, if your quite done trying to tear my brain apart with that ridiculous machine of yours," Krystal said as she took off the headset. "I still have one question, how are we going to fool a ship's scanners?" She asked.

"Ah, I was hoping you would ask that." Slippy said as he reached behind the consol and pulled out a strange mechanical device. It was about the size of a soccer ball, with a central metallic tube that had three other components sticking out from it. Each component was about the size of a grapefruit and cylindrical in shape. He held it up in one hand proudly. "I created this device to boost Krystal's empathetic brain waves. More specifically, the same principle applies now to electronic signals as well as biological ones."

Peppy slapped him on the back. "Great work there Slippy, I knew you would pull it off. But we still have one problem, this only works if they don't expect to see us, which fortunately for us, they don't. But they are still going to have ships scanning the space surrounding the planet looking for people like us just in case. If what you said is true, then we need to find a giant distraction that could easily distract the attention of an entire armada. Anybody got an ideas?"

Nobody said anything. Krystal was looking at the ground with her head on her chin while Fox was scratching his neck. Slippy was staring blankly at his contraption and Falco had now walked over to a pile of crates where he sat on one with his feet dangling in the air.

Suddenly there was a deep rumble and everybody felt a slight vibration run through the deck. Fox jogged over to the wall terminal and pressed a button linking him to the bridge.

"ROB, report!" Fox said earnestly.

"Asteroid impact with hull. Asteroid mass approximately 9.07 mega grams. Damage minimal. Ship's systems 99.5 functional." Came the mechanical reply.

Fox let out a sigh or relief and let go of the intercom button.

Peppy sat down on a nearby crate. "You know, were damn lucky that's the first asteroid we've hit since we sauntered into this field. With some of these rocks the size they are, they could cause a captain of even a fighter carrier a great deal of stress if he saw one of them flying at them." He said.

Fox, who had been walking by him, froze in his tracks and slowly looked at the rabbit.

"What did you jus say?" Fox asked.

Peppy blinked for a second before repeating his last words. "I simply said that some of these asteroids around us are three times the size of the Great Fox, they could easily grind us into a pulp if we weren't careful. Even for a ship twice our size it could cause a great deal of damage if it came at them."

Fox snapped his fingers. "Great idea Peppy. Falco!" Fox yelled over his shoulder. "Go to the hanger and get your space suit on! I'll meet back with you as soon as I make a stop at the armory. Slippy, get ROB set for some mobile work." He said.

Falco sighed and slumped his shoulders. "Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like this." He muttered.

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"Why do I always get stuck with the bitch work?" Falco grumbled to himself as he typed another code into the keypad in front of him.

Falco was once again floating amongst the asteroids in space around the Great Fox, but this time he didn't even have his beloved Arwing. He was in a space suit with a thruster pack attached to his back. In a bag tied around his waist were twenty remaining explosive devices which he had the honor of smacking onto the sides of asteroids. He then would type a code into them to enable the remote detonation program which linked it to the bridge of the Great Fox.

He sighed as he finished another and looked at his suit computer to look up the location of the next asteroid that needed his attention. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted ROB floating through space as he made his way to his next target.

Falco punched a button on his wrist. "Mother Fox, Mother Fox, this is Blue Falcon, over." He said.

A second later a high pitched voice came over the radio. "Blue Falcon this is Mother Fox, go ahead."

"Explain to me again why I'm the one who's doing this, and alone at that."

Peppy's voice now rumbled over the radio. "Because everybody else is to busy getting ready other things for the mission, and we have only one good space suit left. Besides, you got ROB out there to protect you." He said.

Falco looked back at the android as he moved along with his own thruster pack. A small asteroid the size of a watermelon flew by at incredible speed and smacked him on the back of his legs, causing him to spin horizontally at rapid speed. It looked like one of the players on the foose ball table in the rec. room.

"Yeah, that makes me feel all better." He said.

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The briefing room was located down the corridor from the main hanger on one of the Great Fox's lower decks. This allowed the team members to go directly from briefings to their Arwings with minimal detours. Inside was a circular table which had seven seats around it. In the middle was a three dimensional holographic projector that was used to display mission graphics and overlays. As always, the entire crew was now seated around the table with ROB manning controls on the bridge.

Fox stood up to start the briefing. "Alright, now that everybody is here, let's begin." He said as he hit a button and the display came to life. It was a hologram of Sauria, surrounded by tiny red dots that had yellow labels attached to each one. Each label said "cruiser X-3", or "destroyer Y-37", and to one side was the asteroid belt there were now floating in.

Fox pulled out his laser pointer and flashed it around the 3D object. "As you can see, the enemy has a ship in orbit around every square meter of the planet, making a direct approach impossible without being spotted. Fortunately for us we have the lovely Krystal here who makes an indirect approach possible." Fox then hit a button and the image zoomed in on the asteroid field. It showed the Great Fox and about forty asteroids marked with red dots.

"This right here shows the asteroids in this belt that have been tagged with explosive devices that can be remotely detonated from this ship. Now, this is how it is going to work. We can't fly right at them even with Krystal's powers and Slippy's amplifier, because they are looking in this direction for just that, a ship to come at them. So what we have done is prepared a distraction to take their attention away." Fox said as he pressed another button. The image zoomed back out to display both the planet and the asteroid field. Now several arrows pointed away from the asteroid field to various spots in orbit.

"On my signal, the explosive devices on the asteroids will detonate at a pre-determined sequence. In theory, the force of the blast will propel the asteroids towards the enemy fleet. Once they see these rocks coming at them, they will divert all their efforts into trying to outmaneuver or shoot down these objects before they ruin the paint jobs on their capital ships. That will give us the window of opportunity we need to get a single Arwing through their sensor net and to the surface before they know what's happened. The Arwing will be piloted by me and I'll squeeze Krystal in to provide me with the masking signature she will emit." Fox paused for a minute to take a breath.

"I plan on landing near the temple complex that I visited last time I was there. If there are any of the native tribes left, than they will surely be defending that area. Once we are on the surface, I intend to make contact with any local Saurian tribes I can find and try to figure out who the enemy is and what they are up to. Once that is completed, Krystal and I will return to my Arwing and return to the Great Fox. Getting out should be no problem, since the enemy isn't expecting any ships to be coming from the surface, they'll be looking the other way."

Fox took a deep breath before continuing. "Any questions?" He asked.

Krystal had a worried look on her face that was border line on being scared, but didn't say anything. Peppy and Slippy both had blank expressions on their faces and sat in their seats motionless. Finally, Falco spoke up.

"Well, I'm sure as hell glad I'm not going down on this Kamikazee mission of yours. Just remember, if you get in trouble give me a call and I'll be there in a minute to save you." He said.

Fox nodded in his direction. "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. OK then, if there are no more questions, then lets get ready."

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	5. Revelations

Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Revelations

Grand Fleet Admiral Volgran was in a good mood that day. He was quietly humming to himself as he read through the latest reports both from the fleet and the planet surface. All seemed to be going well on both accounts.

The great enemy had made no attempts to pursue their fleet as they had broken orbit from Saursalon weeks ago, and every ship had made it to Sauria without incident. He was also pleasantly surprised that no ships from the nearby star system had made any attempt to investigate. As good as this was, it was also slightly troubling. Surely they had detected his fleet's massive jump signature? Why hadn't they sent any ships to investigate? Where they that oblivious? Or maybe his fleet was being watched, but he just wasn't aware of it yet.

He shook his head at this thought. He was sure his fleet would detect any foreign observation, and to suspect otherwise would show a lack of confidence in his men that a leader needed in order to command. Besides, he had personally approved the sensor patterns of his ships, any active sensor sweeps or ship's engines would be detected in an instant.

Right now the most important task before him was the ground phase. Since he was a navy man, he knew better than to try to dictate the moves of the ground commanders. He left the tactics up to them. What he did need to do was ensure their logistical needs were meet, that meant the massive amounts of food, fuel, ammunition, and other supplies that were constantly being flown down to the planet's surface was on a massive scale.

That is what he was reviewing right now. His reptilian eyes rapidly scanned over the manifest of the transport ships heading to the surface from all over the fleet, searching for any faults. Most of it was the usual, troop transports, class III ammunition supplies, class V ammo, etc. But every so often he would find an absurd waste of resources, like one artillery commander who had ordered a shipment of portable heater units be sent down for the battery crews in the northern mountain region. Heaters, hah! Soldiers didn't need to be warm to fight, all they needed was enough food and water to sustain them, and ammo and fuel for their machines. Any other luxury items were a waste of valuable navy assets.

His attention was taken away from the reports by a small commotion on the bridge. He looked over to the side where an ensign was pointing frantically at his station while telling the bridge's Officer on Watch something Volgron couldn't quite hear.

"Lieutenant, is there a problem?" Vlogron asked.

The Officer on Watch, a medium sized Saurornitholestes with a green tinted hide, slowly walked over to the Admiral's chair and stood at attention.

"Sir, sensors have indicated numerous asteroids have strayed away from the belt located not far from here and are headed for our sector of orbit." He said nervously.

Volgron remained calm and asked coolly, "What caused this? Asteroids don't alter their course without an outside action, how many are there and what is their mass?"

The lieutenant hurried back over to the sensor station and typed in a few commands. Without looking up from the display he said, "Sir, sensors indicate roughly forty nine asteroids are now moving towards us at approximately 300 km/hr, the largest of which has roughly equal mass to one of our destroyers. They will be reaching the fleet's perimeter within the hour." He said hurriedly.

Volgron rapped his claws against his display screen in thought. "Strange as this is, rocks that size could severely cripple our ships." He said to no one in particular.

"Sir, may I suggest sending out three of our light cruisers to intercept?" Asked the Lieutenant.

Volgron shook his head. "No, all ships must remain in station to maintain the perimeter." He said.

"But sir, it would take a missive amount of firepower to destroy those rocks before they hit the fleet if we wait for them to come into range, and then we have the debris from them to worry about." The Lieutenant said worriedly.

"Don't worry about that, we have enough firepower." Volgron said with a smirk. "Tactical Control, order all ships to ready their main sabot cannons and their flak guns. I want a solid wall of protective fire over the following coordinates. After we start shooting, only pebbles will be left."

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Fox was much more uncomfortable with this than he though he would be. Trouble was, it was too late to change his mind now.

Fox's Arwing was flying through space about 100 km behind the cluster of asteroids now floating towards the orbital armada. At the same moment the detonators had fired off, he had ignited his fighter's main thrust drive to match the speed of the rocks. Krystal was sitting in the miniature passenger compartment behind his seat. It was just small enough that a person could fit back there if they curled up their legs a bit and weren't that big in the first place. At the moment she was putting on the device Slippy had made to amplify her thought patterns. She was placing the odd looking helmet on her head and plugging it into the socket in the cockpit when Fox reached behind him and handed her a set of ear plugs and a blindfold.

She looked at them with a puzzled expression on her face. "What are these for?" She asked.

"Put them on." Fox said. "I don't want you to see or hear what's going on around us. I need every bit of your concentration on keeping us hidden. If you get distracted or scared because of something you see outside the cockpit, it could blow it for us." He said.

"Um, Fox, are you sure about this? I mean, I don't want to sound unconfident or anything, but I'm not sure this is going to work." Krystal said with a bit of a shake to her voice.

Fox relaxed for a moment and thought to himself. He was never a great motivator. A person would think that someone in his position, who leads a team of mercenaries into fatally hazardous jobs would be used to trying to cheer people up. But that just wasn't his style. He wasn't good at making uplifting speeches or cracking jokes to try and break the tension before a mission. Fortunately, his team was good enough that he didn't need to try.

Krystal was a different story however. She was not a trained mercenary or military person like the rest of the team, she just sort of fell in with them and started working together. Not that she didn't have any skill, she was a good pilot and Fox trusted her in his fighter wing, but she just wasn't quite used to the stress that went along with the job.

Back during the Venomian War, Fox had read piles of military reports about soldiers who had cracked under the stress of combat. Soldiers who had ended their own life, or simply lost all grasp of reality and been committed to the Veteran's Health mental departments back on Corneria. Secretly Fox had always feared that if the situation got bad enough, Krystal mat have a similar episode, and he had been watching her carefully ever since she joined the team for the warning signs. Luck would have it though that so far she never showed any signs of breaking, just being a bit stressed every so often. Like now.

He opened his mouth to say something but stopped before anything came out.

"Hey Krystal, if you haven't already got that blindfold on, you better do so and start concentrating, this is going to get rough." He finally managed to get out.

Just then the Arwing bucked slightly as deep vibrations rippled through it. In the distance, Fox could see small flashes of light around the planet. He knew from studying the sensor readouts that right about where the flashes were was the location of the fleet, which means that he was seeing the flashes from the main weapons on the ships firing. The fact that he could see the flash meant that he was facing the muzzle of the main guns, which was a very bad sign.

He risked a glance behind him finally and was momentarily relieved to see Krystal had put on the ear plugs and blindfold and had her head bowed in deep concentration. He didn't say anything to risk disturbing her, and returned to facing forward.

It was now that he realized what the enemy ships were firing at. They were breaking up the asteroids. In front of him he could see the larger ones coming apart as they were impacted with heavy anti-ship sabot rounds. Since they were solid kinetic projectiles, designed to literally punch a clean hole right through a ship's hull, there was no great blast or flash of light. Just a cloud of dust and debris as the giant rocks were split up into smaller ones, like throwing dirt clods against a brick wall.

Fox relaxed a bit at this. The sabot rounds were small in relation to other types of munitions and the chances of hitting a fighter his size was astronomical. All he had to do was try to avoid the asteroid debris and he would be ok.

But that thought was shattered abruptly as a new set of lights flashed before him, except these were much closer. A few hundred kilometers in front of him a solid wall of exploding shells erupted. Flak guns, the enemy had deployed a perimeter of flak to destroy the smaller rocks the sabot rounds had created. Where the sabot rounds had been solid projectiles intended to break apart targets, these were actual exploding shells meant to shred anything left. Fox's heart rate quickened. Though the enemy was using it to destroy rocks, they primary usage of those munitions was to shoot down missiles and small fighter craft, like his Arwing.

He hadn't counted on this. He figured they would take a few pot shots at the asteroids that were on a collision course with their ships, but that was it. Now it appeared they were determined to destroy every metric ounce of the interstellar rocks and not let anything near their fleet.

Fox frowned at this later thought. It gave him a brief glimpse at the enemy psyche. They were throwing all their weight into a seemingly trivial thing as a few loose asteroids, exerting a lot of unnecessary resources that he was sure were in a limited supply. This meant that they were extremely proud, willing to do whatever it took to accomplish any and all of their goals, no matter how great or small.

In short, it meant they had balls. And now Fox's were shrinking as he did a quick mental calculation and realized he had only a matter of seconds to react or he would be carried right into the flak wall by his Arwing's momentum. Since he didn't dare turn on his primary engine for fear of detection, he was limited to only his auxiliary maneuvering thrusters, which had a slow reaction speed and very little power. Still, that was better than nothing.

The other big problem was the flak wall was roughly rectangular in dimension, and the longest part was vertical relative to his heading, which meant he had to maneuver out of its way and head in the direction of the fleet's ships before he could re-adjust to match his original course.

He thought about mentioning something to Krystal, but decided against it, he didn't want to upset her concentration any more then he had to. They needed all the help they could get.

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Staff Sergeant Absar was bored. Worse yet he was tired of being bored. He had been stuck on this lousy transport ship now for months, and it was beginning to wear him out. He was an army soldier, trained to fight and live in the muddy trenches or the deep forests, not waste away in steel rooms where sunlight was substituted by vitamins to be taken every morning with breakfast.

While most of the other army units to make it off their home world were now on the surface suppressing the local heretic tribes, he and his unit were still stuck in orbit serving as "Rapid Response Deployable Reserves", or RRDP. In theory, if anything bad happened on the surface and reinforcements were needed, his unit could be sent down quickly anywhere on the planet rather than having to reallocate troops from another theater on the surface. It was a good idea, but such a need was highly unlikely considering the pitiful resistance they had been facing so far; which meant he was just going to keep on wasting away in this giant steel can for the rest of the campaign.

Even now, with the entire ship on full alert status, he had nothing to do. There was no station for him to man, duties to perform, nothing for his soldiers to do in a naval engagement. Even if for some reason they were boarded, the ship had its own compliment of marines to handle any attackers. His men were told just to hunker down and wait it out.

Which is what he was doing right now. He sighed as he crossed his stubby arms in front of him and leaned against the bulkhead and looked out the viewing portal. He smiled a bit as he heard the framework groan slightly against his weight. A big guy, even by his own Dromaeosaur standards, Absar new how to throw his weight around when he needed to. During his stay on the ship, he had noticed how the vast majority of the navy crew members were of the smaller species. The obvious reason being you didn't need to be too big to push buttons at a consol. That, and size made navigating the ship's corridors a hazard if you didn't know where to duck at the right place. He knew, he had several bumps on his head from when he wasn't paying attention to the "duck" signs posted on the piping that ran along the ceiling.

Trying to forget about such miseries, he resumed gazing out the viewing portal at the pretty fireworks the navy pukes were making. The distant, silent flashes he was watching were actually quite pleasant to watch, and sadly enough was the most entertaining thing he had seen so far while on the ship. But his amusement was slowly giving way to unease for a reason he could not identify. There was something out there, around where all those flashes were, that was bothering him. Like a kind of anxiety one may have before speaking in front of a great crowd, or being nervous about an exam. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake the strange feeling or figure out where it was coming from.

He kept staring out the viewing portal, for some reason he seemed drawn to something out there in the direction of the flak bursts. By this time he had stopped blinking, and though he didn't realize it, stopped breathing to. There was something out there, something near the ship, he could feel it. As his eyes went out of focus, he thought he saw something, a kind of shimmer to the stars. Not to far from the portal, a piece of space was wavering, like the surface of water on a windy day. It now had a kind of shape to it. It looked almost like a…

His attention was drawn away from the strange anomaly as his eyes automatically shifted to some movement in the upper left peripheral of his vision. He had just enough time to register a large object flying at tremendous speed towards him. He had just a fraction of a second after that for his brain to register that it was an asteroid the size of a car hurtling at his ship before it smacked right into the side of the hull; just one deck above where he was leaning against the bulkhead.

The impact knocked him across the corridor and smacked him into the opposite bulkhead where the force of his body made a dent in the metal, and a nearly equally loud banging noise. His body then fell to the floor in a heap.

He groaned as he tried to move. Absar's head was swimming and his vision was blurred. He tasted blood in his mouth as he tried to prop himself up with his arms, but this was the one situation where his massive bulk and short arms were a major hindrance, and he collapsed back to the deck.

Moments before he completely lost conciseness, his mind was again thinking about the weird sensation he had felt and the odd shape he seen out the portal. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good. He had to tell someone about it, they must be warned. If only he just stay awake a little longer…

But no matter how he tried, he couldn't. Just as a pair of navy crewman came running down the corridor to assist the injured soldier they saw lying there, his head flopped to the deck with a thud.

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Fox was really getting worried now, that last rock had been close. It had smacked right into this big ass transport ship he was now gliding right next to. The ship was so big in fact, Fox suspected that stray asteroid would have hit him if not for the small gravitational force the transport created from its mass.

Fox shook his head as he tried to re-focus on more important matters. By now he was pushing his Arwing as fast as it would go without engaging the primary thrusters. He was hugging the contours of a large transport as he tried to avoid smacking into the jutting edges of the hull. He was being forced to stay this close to the ship to avoid the flak wall a mere few hundred meters to his left. As he traveled along the hull, however, the flashes were starting to come from behind, which meant he was almost at the end of the burst radius and could pull away from the transport in safety. The sooner, the better since he didn't like being so close to prying eyes. As he zoomed past the viewing portals, Fox caught glancing images of faces peering out at him. He was getting nervous that Krystal's psychic shield might not hold up, and didn't want to push his luck.

He was about ready to pull away from the transport when he saw the bluish glare of the ship's engines ahead and he realized he had reached the end. He decided to stay on course and just fly straight through. As the black hull passed away behind him, Fox allowed himself to relax slightly has he viewed the open space ahead of him. There were still many ships in front of him, but none of them were in his flight plan. The glow of the atmosphere of Sauria now almost filled his canopy he was so close, his onboard computer said he only had about twenty seven more minutes of flight time before he began the re-entry process. If nothing else unexpected happened, Fox figured he might just make it.

He looked back behind him at Krystal and saw she was still quietly concentrating on her psychic shield. The fact that they hadn't been shot at yet was proof enough for Fox that it was working. Now all he had to do get to the planet surface. As the last of the enemy ship's zoomed past him, a new type of apprehension sat in. His mind began to wonder about what awaited him on the surface. He always disliked ground missions over space. It had been his experience that when he was on ground missions he usually got to see the enemy up close and personal. For many people he had always heard that was a good thing, they liked to see the face of who they were fighting. Fox though had the opposite reaction. He always liked to keep the people he was fighting to be anonymous in his mind, which always made it easier to shoot them down when the time came.

As his Arwing began to tremble from the gravitational pull of Sauria, he wondered who he would be fighting this time.

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The Walled City, home of many of the largest of the Saurian Temples. Though not as grand or important as the Krazoa Palace, these temples were essential parts of the Saurian religion. It was here that the last of the die hard warriors of the Saurian Tribes were making their last stand.

Fox had been here before twice, the first time to help restore order to the planet, and the second time to fight the Apareroid invasion of only a year ago. The latest incident had been particularly hard on the local inhabitants, since most of their numbers were decimated by the genocidal aliens. Now things were no better. Once again the local tribes were facing near extinction by an outside force, and Fox was here to figure out who and why.

Fox carefully touched down his Arwing in a wide plaza next to the river near one of the smaller temples. As he powered down the ship's systems to standby, he heard Krystal stirring in the back.

"Hurry up and get me out of this thing, if I don't get into some fresh air quick, I'm going to start screaming." She said with a sense of panic in her voice.

Fox quickly punched a few buttons and the cockpit window opened up with a hiss as the air lock was released. As soon as there was enough space, Krystal vaulted out the side and onto the ground without even waiting for the ladder to unfold on the side. Once down, she quickly ran to the nearest tree and promptly vomited.

Fox watched her for a minute before climbing out as well. Careful not to touch the still hot sides from re-entry, he climbed down the ladder and surveyed his surroundings.

Strangely enough it seemed very peaceful. There were no marks of violence anywhere around the temple complex. The sky was blue and sunny, the water in the river clear, and the temples still were completely unscathed. Even the dinosaurs seemed content. There were temple priests going about their usual business and a few warriors casually strolling around the grounds on regular patrols. Of course now that he had landed a crowd was gathering and moving toward him, but other than that he would never have guessed the planet was in any kind of distress. The only thing he thought unusual was that all the dinosaur tribes were represented there. He saw the Earth Walkers, Cloud Runners, High Tops, Thorn Tail, some of the Sharp Claw, and even a few Red Eye. They all seemed to be getting along too, even though last time he head been there some of them were sworn enemies.

Wasting no time, he marched towards the crowd with a purpose.

"Excuse me!" He yelled over the murmur of the crowd. "I need to speak to Prince Tricky of the Earth Walkers! Does anybody know where I can find him?" He asked.

At this name the murmurs abruptly died down and everybody suddenly found something very interesting to look at on the ground. By this time Krystal had composed herself and had walked up to fox's side and touched him on the arm.

"Fox," She whispered in his ear, "They are all very afraid, but I don't think it is just the invaders that have put fear into them, there is something else."

Fox looked at her with a puzzled expression and was about to ask about her last comment when he heard a familiar voice emerge from the back of the crowd.

"Fox McCloud, somehow I knew you'd be back again." Came a deep rumbling voice.

The crowd quickly parted and Fox spotted the origin of the voice. Flanked by a pair of Earth Walker Soldiers was Prince Tricky of the Earth Walker Tribe. A triceratops with an orange tint to his hide, he was now a fully grown dinosaur.

Fox had first met him when he let him trail along with him on his first visit to the planet, but had left him in the care of his father the King of the Earth Walkers. He had also met with him briefly after the Aparoids had been chased off as well a year ago, but he had not seen him since. Despite his reluctant meeting with him the very first time; Fox and Tricky had since developed a rather deep if odd relationship.

Fox spread his arms and a smile played across his face. "Tricky, it's good to see you again! Come here, I haven't seen you in so long, you've grown even more! You're almost as big now as your father." He said happily.

Tricky slowly sauntered up to him with a neutral expression on his face. As he got closer, Fox's smile began to shrink. When he was right in front of him, Tricky looked him dead in the eye for a minute before rearing his head back and smacking Fox to the ground with a roar.

Fox flew backwards and landed on his back with a shocked look on his face. Krystal yelped and ran over to his side.

"Tricky! Why did you do that? That's no way for a prince to behave!" She yelled at him.

"Quiet! I'll do what I please, and that's King Tricky to you!" He roared at them. "Ever since my father died fighting the invaders months ago, I have taken my place at the throne of the Earth Walker nation, and now command the combined forces of the Saurian Tribes. I will not be spoken to with such contempt by mere mammal such as yourself." He said with a snarl.

Fox's expression had slowly turned from horror to sadness as he looked at his old friend. "Tricky, what has happened? Why are you like this?" He asked.

Tricky just snorted. "You see Fox, I finally figured it out not long after the last time you were here. You only come in time of need. Not because you really care, but because we are nothing but an opportunity for you to increase your fame and fortune. I remember the first time you visited, how much of a hurry you were to get off the planet, and how you kept asking your crew if they had received payment. Payment, because that's all we are to you, just a source of income. Tell me mercenary, how much they are paying you for this visit?"

Fox opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Tricky was right, he had only come to his planet on paid assignments from the Cornerian Government, and this time round was no different. Though Fox really did care for Saurian's citizens, Tricky was right, he had never bothered to simply stop by to say hello.

Then Tricky's face softened a bit and he sighed. The next words that came out were much less aggressive and filled with sadness. "However, sad as it is, we do need you Fox. This is truly our darkest hour, and if anyone can help us, it's you. That, and it is truly good to see you again."

The crowd was dead silent. Fox was still on his back with Krystal propping him up. Not even the birds chirped. Without saying a word, Fox got up to his feet and stood before Tricky. He stood there for a minute saying nothing, just staring Tricky in the eye. Finally, he spoke.

"Tricky, I can understand what you are feeling right now. For someone to be rushed to your position of responsibility in this time of crisis would strain the nerves of anyone. I forgive you for your hatred, and hope that my presence here is proof of my good intentions. So please great king, who attacks Sauria now?"

A look of relief spread across Tricky's face and the rest of the crowd. But it was quickly replaced by a troubled one as he responded to Fox's question.

"That is not an easy question to answer. Come with me, for I have much to show you." Tricky said.

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"Fox, did I ever tell you about the Saurian religious beliefs?" Tricky asked Fox as they stared at the temple drawings.

Fox shook his head. "Not really, I know you hold the Krazoa spirits in high importance, but that's about it" He said.

They were now deep inside one of the largest temples in the complex, the one devoted to the moon. Tricky had brought Fox and Krystal down to the inner chambers to show them ancient religious drawings on the walls. There were several pictures that were hand painted on the wall, each on seemed to be part of a story, going from left to right as the story went on.

Tricky shook his head sadly. "No, that's not it at all. You see, we acknowledge the Krazoas as magical beings, but we don't worship them. They were on this planet before us, and for that we respect them. But we have a different origin."

Tricky took a deep breath before continuing. "You see, our principle belief lies in a legend, a legend that says millions of years ago, our race lived on a planet our holy texts refer to as 'Terria'. Not just or race, but yours as well and all other living things. We all originated on Terria, which is in another spiral arm of the Galaxy. But something happened, and life on Terria was going to be wiped out."

Tricky now was gesturing to certain pieces of wall art in front of him. One panel was a hand painted picture on the stone wall of a blue planet with white swirling clouds and continents on it, with varying climates from vast deserts to lush green lands. It also had one barren moon in orbit around it. The other panel next to it showed a starship traveling away from the planet as an asteroid was hurtling towards the surface.

"We know not who they were or where they came from, or even why they choose to save us from extinction. We simply call them the 'Noak'. The Noak took us across the stars and placed us on two different planets. The dinosaurs on a planet called Saursalon, and the mammals, birds, and other life forms on Corneria.

There over the millennia or races slowly grew and evolved, each differently from the other. We dinosaurs have physically changed very little over time, but we have developed minds and the ability to think and reason. You mammals on the other hand bear almost no resemblance to your former selves. Our texts say that when we left Terria not only were your minds underdeveloped like ours, but you were no bigger than my foot.

We hold no grudge against non-dinosaurs such as yourselves; since we are all children of the Noak, we generally live at peace with all living creatures. We do this to follow the example set by the Noak, which is to protect all living things"

By this time Fox held up his hands and shook his head. "Whoa, wait a minute. Slow down. This is a lot to take in. First of all, I thought you said your species was brought to Saursalon? This is Sauria, how did you get here? Did you rename the planet or something" He asked.

Tricky's face now took a solemn expression as he continued. "Yes, you are right, this is Sauria, not Saursalon. There is another part of the story that must be told, and explains what is happening now. You see, after the Noak left us on Saursalon, our race grew and prospered. As time went by, we had advanced to the level of a space-faring race with the wonders of the cosmos before us to explore. However, our accomplishments blinded us to the important things, and the worship and thanks which had been given to the Noak began to decline. Soon, many were calling the Noak a mere myth and superstition. Dinosaurs began to put their faith instead in science and pleasures of the flesh. Some even said that we had evolved beyond the Noak, and that we were better. Yet many still clung to the old ways, and eventually the two sides collided in a horrible war.

I will not bother you with the details, but after much death and destruction, the ones loyal to the old ways and the worship of the Noak were defeated, and fled to Sauria. No one knows why our ancestors were not pursued here by the victorious on Saursalon, perhaps because they were in too bad of a shape from the fighting and were content simply to see us flee. Regardless, the outcasts traveled here, to Sauria and settled down to start anew. In learning from their past experience on Saursalon, all but the most basic technology was abandoned. Our lives were to be devoted the worship of the Noak and to live in harmony with the Krazoa spirits. No electricity or space flight was needed for this, so such things were abandoned."

Tricky paused just long enough to let out a sigh. "But now after hundreds of years, the oppressors from Saursalon have returned to finish what was begun long ago. We know not why they have waited this long or what has driven them here, but they seem content to exterminate us."

There was silence for a few seconds. The only sound that could be heard was the flickering of the torches that lit the chamber. Finally, Fox broke the silence.

"Tricky, I'm sorry for what has happened to Sauria, I really am; and believe it or not, I am here to help you. Please, I need to know more about the attackers. Is there any type of information you can give me?" He asked softly.

Tricky slowly turned his head to look at him. "I'll do better than tell you, I'll show you. Come, follow me."

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They were now quietly moving through the jungle, not being completely silent but not saying a word. No one had told them to be quite, it just went without saying. Tricky and six bodyguards were now guiding Fox and Krystal west away from the temple complex. Up ahead Fox could see a ridge line, and beyond that, black smoke. Even more disturbing than that, for several kilometers now Fox could hear and fell the thump and vibration of high explosive artillery impacts. Judging from the smoke, they were getting close now to the impact zone.

Just then a whistling noise filled the air and increased in pitched. Everybody dove for the ground, or in the Earth Walker bodyguard's case, just spread their legs and lay on their bellies. A shell landed about fifty meters behind them and kicked up a cloud of dirt as well as knocking over two trees. After a moment, everybody silently rose.

"Tricky, are you sure about this? This is a little hazardous, especially for a King" Fox asked.

Tricky looked at him with a hard expression. "You said you needed to gather information, to see this enemy. Well, now your going to get your chance. Come on, just over that ridge there." He said.

They marched up the ridge for about five hundred meters before they crested it. Once they reached the top, the laid down and looked over the edge and valley below them. Fox pulled out his image magnifiers and zoomed in on the carnage below.

"Now see what we are up against." Tricky said softly.

Below in the valley was a village. Fox guessed it had once been a prosperous farming community and, judging from the size of it and the many roads leading in, also a busy trading route. But that was in the past. Now it was a smoldering ruin. Thatched grain silos were burning, store fronts were collapsed, and buildings were either being burnt or demolished.

There were uniformed dinosaur soldiers everywhere. From what fox could see, they were all velociraptors of a medium size. They wore jungle camouflage uniforms with ballistic helmets and some type of laser assault rifle slung over their shoulders.

Then Fox saw the bodies. Piles of them. To one side of the village he could see the soldiers dragging the corpses of dead Sharp Claw warriors to stack them in a giant heap. On the other side something much worse was happening.

The civilians had been gathered in a long line on the east side of the village. Fox saw men, women, and children of all ages huddled together in masses. At the end of the line there was a heavy solid slug machine gun set up facing the line of civilians with a crew manning it. As he watched, the crew finished putting a fresh ammo belt in it and got ready to fire. In front was a separate line of about thirty civilians standing in front of a deep trench. One of the enemy soldiers stood next to the machine gun with his arm raised. He then dropped it and the machine gun began to fire. The civilians in front of it were dead in a matter of seconds, their bodies falling down the trench and adding to the number at the bottom of it.

Fox dropped his magnifier to the ground.

"As you can see, they have done this before." Tricky said coldly. "This particular unit has been cleansing these jungles for two weeks now. The enemy seems to deploy the smaller species of dinosaurs to the jungles and forests where their size is of more advantage than the larger carnosaurs. They have no intention of taking prisoners or of capturing goods. They are simply clearing us out, like a gardener cutting grass. They are making way for their own kind, to claim and settle this planet. At this rate, our people will be extinct in a matter of months.

We have no means of resisting them. They use tanks, long range artillery, gun ships and machine guns against our warriors who only carry spears. We have raided and stolen a few of their weapons caches, but it is not enough. Fox, remember what you see here, and bring us help."

By this time Krystal was throwing up again. She couldn't stand up to run away to be sick because that would give away their position, so she simply crawled down the slope and vomited where she lay.

Fox picked back up the image magnifier and took several pictures of the carnage below him, being sure to include the execution squad and the mass graves.

After he finished, he turned to Tricky with a serious look on his face. "Tricky, I swear to you that I will bring these images back to Corneria. I will show my people what is happening here, and I will bring the whole might of the military down on these brutes. And if for some reason I cannot do that, then me and my team will fight alone at your side to the death." He said.

Tricky nodded. "That is good Fox McCloud, because anything less would spell our doom. Now, let's get you back to your ship so you can leave this place with your information while you still can."

Fox nodded and they slowly crawled backward away from the ridgeline back down the hill. Though Fox could no longer see the village, the wind had shifted, blowing the smoke towards him. He could smell the familiar scent of burning wood and vegetation, but a new smell was now wafting to him.

It was burning flesh.

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There. This was a long chapter but I had a lot of information to cram in it and splitting it up just wouldn't work. Sorry it took so long to post and hopefully I'll be able to finish the next one soon.

I want to thank those who took the time to write reviews and appreciate the comments and suggestions.

One of which I have decided to act upon and have lowered the rating to a "T". I was playing it safe when I started this out with an "M" and also had some darker ideas, but after careful thought they just didn't sound very good.

-Duke5865


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